


Human Shield

by yankeetooter



Category: Chernobyl (TV 2019)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 21:43:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20881151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yankeetooter/pseuds/yankeetooter
Summary: Boris will always shield Valery.





	Human Shield

It happened so quickly that Valery barely had time to register it. And later, when he had had time to process it, it struck him how ridiculous it was that at Chernobyl, where they were being bombarded day after day (week after week, month after month) by deadly radiation, something as mundane as a trash bin explosion would have put them in mortal danger.

Someone must have put some gas soaked rags in the nearby bin, along with some other combustible materials. At least, that's all they could assume after the fact. Then all it would have taken was a worker tossing their cigarette in the bin and whoosh!

At any rate, one moment Valery was standing outside, talking with Boris, the next moment Boris was hurdling him to the ground, landing on top of him heavily. A moan of pain from Boris stopped Valery from snapping at Boris for such rough treatment. Then Tarakanov was there, pulling Boris off Valery.

Valery leaped up and saw to his horror that Boris had been badly burned, most of his khakis and shirt underneath completely shredded. He followed the soldiers to the medical tent and watched anxiously as the medic carefully removed the fabric from Boris' back and began bandaging him.

After that, Valery did not leave Boris alone for a moment, even to return to his room to sleep. Instead, he stretched out in the chair by Boris' bed, where he could be available at a moment's notice if Boris needed something.

When Boris awoke, he found a very distressed Valery by his side. He tried to turn towards him to reassure him, but instant and intense pain made him curse. Valery winced and called for the medic, who came over immediately.

"Yes, I'm afraid you're going to be in a good bit of pain for several days, Deputy Chairman Shcherbina," the medic said apologetically. "I can only administer so much morphine at one time. The best thing to do is try not to move unnecessarily."

Boris nodded grumpily. The medic turned to Valery. "One thing that will help some with both the healing and the pain is aloe vera. I've asked General Pikalov to order some and it should arrive tomorrow. Once we have it, you can apply it every hour. I'll be busy with the other patients." Valery agreed, eager to do anything that would help ease Boris' pain.

That first night was a rough one. The aloe wouldn't arrive until the morning, and the effects of the morphine were slowly wearing off, with the next dose not sure to be administered until six a.m. Boris tried to hide his pain, but Valery noticed his every grimace. At one point Boris heard sniffling, and turned to look at Valery, who had silent tears running down his cheeks. 

"Valera! It's okay! I've been through worse!"

"Borya, it's because of me that you're in such pain!"

Boris managed to stretch his arm out and capture one of Valery's hands in his. "Valera, you could have been hurt, or killed! You were standing much closer to the bin!"

"W-well, you could have been killed too! And it would have been my fault!"

"Valera, if you had been killed, I would have lost the only person in my life who brings me joy in this godforsaken place! I was not about to lose you!"

Valery squeezed Boris' hand in his. How was it Boris always said the right thing? The rest of the night Valery sat stroking Boris' hand, and gradually Boris drifted off to sleep.

When the aloe shipment arrived, Valery took over caring for Boris. Every hour like clockwork, he would apply it to Boris' burns, slathering it liberally over every burnt area. So gentle was his touch that Boris felt no pain, and as the aloe began to help with the healing, Boris came more and more to enjoy Valery's ministrations. Soon, he could sit up without too much pain, and eating and drinking became much easier. Valery had also procured a bottle of vodka for further "medicinal purposes", so soon Boris felt much like his old self. 

Meanwhile, Valery was on his last legs. He was too worried he would miss Boris' hourly treatments if he fell asleep, so he forced himself to stay awake. He got so tired he kept nodding off, so finally Boris had a guard physically escort him to a spare tent, and guard him for eight hours. "And if he doesn't sleep, keep him in there longer!" Boris ordered as the guard dragged a protesting Valery out of the medical tent.

Boris need not have worried overly much, though. The moment Valery's head hit the pillow, he was out cold and slept for twelve hours straight.

While he slept, Boris began to feel much better, to the point where he got the medic to allow him to leave the medical tent. So it was that when Valery finally woke up, Boris, who had been in to check on him several times while he slept, was sitting next to his cot.

"Boris!" Valery exclaimed, and made to leap out of bed. But hours spent sitting in a metal folding chair had done a number on his back and he laid back down gingerly.

"No, Valera, it's my turn to take care of you!". So saying, Boris began massaging Valery's sore back as Valery drifted back to sleep.


End file.
